Son Heung-min scores 1st EPL goal of season

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean forward Son Heung-min has scored his first league goal of the season in his club's 3-1 win over Chelsea.

Son scored Tottenham's third goal against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday (local time). With Spurs leading 2-0, Son scored a fantastic solo goal in the 54th minute. He took the pass from Dele Alli near the halfway line and dribbled past Jorginho and David Luiz before finishing with a neat left-footed strike past Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

(Yonhap)

This was Son's first English Premier League goal in the 2018-19 season after playing eight matches. Including other competitions, it was his third goal of the season. The 26-year-old previously netted twice in Spurs' 3-1 win over West Ham United at the Carabao Cup on Oct. 31.

Son is now only one goal away from scoring his 100th goal in his European career. He scored 49 goals for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga before moving to Tottenham in 2015. For the London club, he has bagged 50 goals across all competitions.

Against Chelsea, Son started as a left winger and had a couple chances to put his name on the score sheet in the first half. In the 10th, he fired a volley off Christian Eriksen's through ball in the box, but it flew over the net. His curling left-footed striker in the 31st went off target, while his volley off Eriksen's cross in the first-half stoppage time was saved by Kepa.

Son didn't play full time as he was replaced by Erik Lamela in the 78th.

Tottenham got their lead in the eighth with Alli's header off Eriksen's free kick, and Harry Kane made it 2-0 with his right-footed strike in the 16th. Chelsea did manage to avoid a shutout loss with Olivier Giroud's goal in the 85th.

"I think Dele's pass was unbelievable," Son said of his goal to Spurs TV. "It's just amazing to score a goal like this. I feel very proud of this team and this goal."

Son went through a hectic schedule for his South Korean national team this season, playing international events like the

2018 FIFA World Cup and the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, where he won a gold medal, as well as friendly matches. Last season, his first EPL goal came in October.

"I feel very sorry because I was away for a long time and didn't play well," he said. "But the fans again made me play well, and I want to thank them for that." (Yonhap)